PRESIDENT
TALAT: WE'RE CERTAIN ABOUT OUR POLICIES"
President
Mehmet Ali Talat stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side was certain about
its policies and would always accept a settlement that protected their
rights and interests. He said: "The shape of a settlement may change,
perhaps the parameters may change after many years, but a settlement is
our main objective".
Highlighting
that in a future settlement the parameters for settling the property issue
had, more or less, been identified, President Talat said all the
settlement plans included how all mechanisms, such as compensation,
exchange, and even returning properties, would function appropriately.
Indicating
that the evacuation of the Gazza Strip was being compared to the Middle
East-Cyprus problem, the President said there were no similarities
whatsoever between the two issues. Stressing that it was very wrong to try
and compare the Gazza Strip with Cyprus, President Talat said:
"The
settlement parameters of the Cyprus problem have evolved over the years.
Unlike the Israel-Palestine conflict, the Cyprus problem is not a
situation that's constantly changing, in a continuous state of war, and
most important of all a problem that changes according to power. The UN
parameters, the prepared plans, and UN Security Council resolutions have
more or less explained how the settlement should be".
Asked if the
Greek Cypriot side would be ready to open the Bostanci border gate by the
end of September, the President replied: "When they're ready they'll allow
crossings. We'll open the gate, but in reality it'll be effective when the
Greek Cypriot side is ready and permits crossings".
PUBLIC SECTOR
REFORMS…
The
Republican Turkish Party and United Forces (CTP-BG) and Democrat Party
(DP) coalition government are in the final stages of their studies on
public sector reforms.
The public
sector reform package, which was prepared by experts from the E.U and the
U.K, was last night (22 August) presented to NGOs. The package envisages
joining all offices that perform similar jobs and switching to set working
hours all year round. With the public sector reform package, the Coalition
Government plans to restructure the public administration in line with EU
standards and carry out an administrative and technical modernization.
Speaking
before yesterday's presentation of the package to the NGOs, Prime Minister
Ferdi Sabit Soyer, stressing that public sector reform was vital, said
with these new public reforms the government was trying to implement, they
were aimed at primarily ensuring participation and productivity in the
public administration.
Highlighting
that when embarking on studies to reform the public sector the government
acted with the theology that 'public reform should seriously take place in
all fields of life', Prime Minister Soyer underlined that everyone should
work together towards shaping public reforms in line with the dynamics of
the 21st Century.
Referring to
the necessity for public reform, he said: "If the public administration
doesn't adapt to the new situation that has emerged as a result of
economic and technological changes, it will be inevitable that we will be
confronted with the painful results we're faced with today".
OPERATION TO
DEMINE BUFFER ZONE CONTINUES
Within the
framework of the cooperation carried out between the Security Forces
Commandorate and the UN and sponsored by the EU, the efforts of the Centre
for Mine Movement to clean up the buffer zone of mines and ammunition is
still continuing.
According to
information received from the Centre for Mine Movement via the UN, it was
stated that in line with the second phase of the operation to demine the
buffer zone in Cyprus, as of yesterday (22 August) efforts had already
begun to clean up the buffer zone near Ayios Demetios and Metehan of
mines.
So far
experts from the Centre for Mine Movement have demined an area of 575,000
metres square and de-activated a total of 2,186 mines.
